Onyx YGO style REVISED
by vampiresakura14
Summary: This is just something i did after watching Smallville. This is for you Smallville fans! Seto's friend [known only as L.L.] sends him a mysterious green stone [kryptonite... duh] and some stuffs happens that results in Seto splitting in two! More inside!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Seto walked through the double doors leading to the laboratories of the Kaiba Corp. main building, on the seventeenth floor. The tail of his long, black coat flapped behind him as he walked. Men and women, all his employees, were running around in white coats, safety goggles, and rubber gloves, holding dangerous chemicals or piles of research papers. None paid Seto any head, but he didn't mind this. He was looking for a specific lab and specific person.

Three hallways and two computer labs later, he arrived at the genetics lab, where more scientists were hard at work testing serums on animals and different methods of growing plants. He stopped in front of a glass structure that held inside a small greenhouse. Seeds that had been genetically enhanced were now being planted and subjected to a wide array of different methods of growth. A man with a clipboard stood in front of it, taking notes as the watering machine sprayed a light layer of water over the dirt.

"Karachi," Seto said as he approached the man.

The man turned at the call of his name. He had sandy brown hair and dark circles under his eyes, no doubt form overwork, and the slight stubble on his face hinted at a lack of sleep.

"Ah, Mr. Kaiba," he said in a slow, deep voice. "I'm glad you could make it."

"You said you've made progress," Seto said, eyeing the greenhouse. "I'm afraid I have yet to see a difference."

"Yes, well," Karachi said, "the pods have not been responding to any kind of treatment so far. But we have confirmed that, if we succeed, we might be able to grow tarnished or poisoned seeds, making them healthy again and thus increasing food stock and the population of plants around the globe."

"That is your progress?" Seto asked incredulously. "I'm glad to hear that you know what the results should be, but without the right path to those results we are as good as nowhere. I need to see action, otherwise I am terminating this experiment."

"But, Mr. Kaiba…"

"Karachi, this company works on game design and technology, not plants and animals. Unless I see some real progress soon, you will be terminated, and the lab shut down."

Seto turned round and began making his way to the exit, leaving a very disheartened Karachi behind.

Back at his office a few floors up, Seto began work at his computer. About an hour later, a man from his security staff walked in, holding a small brown package.

"Sir," he said. "This package just came for you."

"On the desk, please," said Seto without looking up. The man placed it on the desk and left. Seto pulled the box toward him and looked at the return address. It had a weird insignia on it. It looked like the letter C set in the crook of the letter L, both in a square shape.

Underneath were the words Metropolis, Kansas. Seto knew whom this was from: a good friend of his who also was head off a large company. He slid the blade of a letter opener across the masking tape, cutting the box open and releasing the flaps. He pulled the cardboard flaps apart and almost gasped.

Inside was a large emerald crystal, glowing with a strange green light. Seto could tell this was no ordinary crystal. He could feel a sense of immense power radiating from its depths. The felling increased as he touched it and lifted it out of the cloth interior. Then he noticed a paper in the lining of the box. He pulled it out and read the slanted and looped handwriting. It said:

Having trouble with your experiments?

Try using this. Best effective when heated at

1000degrees Kelvin.

L.L.

Seto turned the small piece of paper over, but saw it was blank. What did he mean, heat it at 1000 degrees Kelvin? How could it help with anything? Seto decided to trust his old friend, and replaced the crystal inside the box. Then, his computer blipped, announcing he had a new email. Seto opened it and read the message, noticing it was from his friend.

The message explained the mysterious origin of the green rock, and how to use it with certain experiments, such as plant reproduction. Seto raised his eyebrows in surprise. It looked as though Karachi had lucked out on this. This was probably the breakthrough he was looking for. Without finishing his message, Seto stood and took the box down to the laboratories, hoping his friend was right about this.

It was unfortunate, however, that Seto never finished reading the email:

Be careful, Seto. This meteor is unstable. If anything happens, please notify me and keep it locked safely away from anyone else. Best wishes.

L.L.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: after the explosion, if you couldn't figure it out already, his good half shall be referred to as Seto and his bad half as Kaiba. Enjoy!

Chapter Two

Over the few weeks since Seto received the green stone from his American friend, Dr. Karachi had devoted himself to endless work and sleepless nights. Near the end of the third week, Seto paid a visit to the laboratory late at night.

He entered the empty lab and walked up to the scientist, the only light that permeated the room coming from the glow of the green crystal behind the glass of the greenhouse. Karachi turned a dial on the control panel before him and a beam of red light hit the crystal firmly in the center. The laser's beam refracted off the crystal, creating green rays that shone off the stone's surface and slid over the newly sprouting seeds in the dirt.

"How's it coming?" Seto asked as he approached.

"Astonishingly well," Karachi replied, his deep voice vibrating with excitement. "The seeds have not only been purged of the radiation poisoning, but are growing at twice the normal rate of regular seeds. And the laser is only at half power."

"You haven't been putting the laser on at full power?" Seto asked shortly. "Why not?"

"There hasn't seemed to be any need to," said Karachi. "The current temperature of the beam is 500 degrees K. I've been steadily increasing its power every day."

Seto did not speak, nor did he take his eyes off of the crystal. It was true that Karachi had made amazing progress. But Seto remembered the words on the note, and he couldn't help but wonder how much more they could do if the laser were set to max. Making his decision, yet still not looking away from the crystal, Seto spoke.

"Turn it up," he said.

"Pardon, Sir?" said Karachi confusedly, looking at Seto.

"I said to increase the laser's power."

"B-but…" Karachi stuttered, suddenly panic stricken, "that could result in a horrible catastrophe. If the laser were to be increased too fast…"

"Karachi," said Seto, cutting him off, "you have done well these past few weeks, but a few sprouts doesn't prove too much. As I told you before, the experiment will work the best when the temperature is set for 1000 degrees K. So, unless you want to be looking for a new job, I suggest you do as I say."

Karachi stuttered on for a moment longer, then, sighing, admitted defeat.

"I will turn it up," he said contently, "but at a reasonable pace.

"Fine," said Seto, and Karachi began to slowly turn the dial.

The light of the laser grew brighter and reflected in Seto's brilliant blue eyes, which he still would not remove from the increasingly glowing crystal.

"Laser standing at 550 degrees," Karachi stated a moment later.

"Not enough," muttered Seto. "Higher."

The scientist turned the dial again, up another fifty notches.

"600," he said.

"More," Seto said. "Take it up another hundred."

"But, sir—."

"Just do it, Karachi!"

The man reluctantly did as he was told and increased the laser again, this time by one hundred.

"700 degrees, sir."

"Keep going," Seto growled. "Just tell me when you're almost there."

For every degree higher the laser rose the sprouts seemed to grow faster and faster, the meteor rock's rays sliding gently over the soil and the beam grew hotter and hotter.

"Sir," Karachi said a few moments later. "We are now standing at 900 degrees Kelvin…. Are you sure you want to keep going, Sir…?"

Seto did not answer right away. He was still gazing intently into the crystalline depths of the green stone, whose light reflected wildly in his ice-blue eyes, turning them an odd turquoise color that gave them a glazed look. But a look of hunger seemed to dance in those eyes as well.

"Do it," he finally said.

The plants were now almost two feet tall and beginning to blossom as the dial was slowly turned to 925… 950… 975….

"We have reached 1000 degrees Kelvin," Karachi announced as the dial stuck on its maximum level. The plants were now completely full grown. The experiment was a success.

But…

"M-Mr. Kaiba…? Mr. Kaiba!"

"What is it now?" Seto snapped as he examined the contents of the greenhouse.

"Th-the dial has stopped," Karachi stammered, "but the temperature… i-it's still rising!"

"What!" Seto shouted, finally turning away from the stone to stare at Karachi.

"It keeps rising and at an alarming pace, too! At this rate…"

"Then, turn it off!" Seto said as an alarm went off on the control panel.

"I can't! It won't move!"

Seto turned back round to look at the greenhouse again. The red laser beam was so bright and strong now it was a wonder the crystal hadn't shattered yet. Seto's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the stone; as the laser grew even hotter, the stone became darker until it reached the deepest of purple, almost black. Seto felt his spine tingle in a cold shiver. Then…

"Run!" he yelled to the doctor, fearing the worst. "Get out of here, now!"

Karachi took two frightened steps backward. He was almost too scared to move.

"GO!"

The doctor quickly turned tail and ran as fast as he could just as Seto started running as well, but the time he wasted waiting for the doctor cost him. The heated stone exploded, sending black shards shooting around the room. The resulting shockwave pushed Seto off of his feet and sent him flying. There was a moment where he seemed to slow in midair as the laser refracted off the scattered shards and filled the room with an ominous dark purple light. Seto felt an overwhelming stab of pain in his spine as the beams shone across his back and a horrible, squelching sound filled his ears. Through the pain, he thought he felt something separate from his body. Then, time seemed to resume its normal pace and Seto was thrown over the control panel and landed facedown on the floor.

Seto lifted his head from where he lay on the floor, glanced behind him, and immediately rolled to avoid a large piece of metal from cutting him in two. When he was safely out of harm's way, he examined the wreckage more closely.

The greenhouse, laser and control panel were virtually destroyed, with frayed wires poking out of the spot where the panel used to be. However, the plants, though looking a little windswept, seemed completely unharmed. Seto carefully tried to sit up and was relieved to find no serious injuries. Then, he turned round to see that Karachi had not had as much luck. Karachi was lying prone to the ground, unconscious and bleeding, fragments of glass and rubble protruding from his body. Seto quickly hurried to his side.

"Karachi?" he said to the man. "Are you all right?"

Karachi moaned as he slowly began to wake.

"No, don't move," Seto said when the doctor tried. "I'm going to call an ambulance."

He had taken out his cell phone and begun dialing when he noticed something strange. An odd sensation permeated his body. He felt as though there were something missing. Not just from his person, but from his very being.

"Domino Hospital E.R., how may I help you?" said a voice from the phone, bringing Seto out of his revere.

"Uh… yes, this is Seto Kaiba," he said quickly. "I need an ambulance at the Kaiba Corp. main building immediately. There's been an accident."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Kaiba groaned as he propped himself onto his aching hands and knees. He had hit the wall and landed behind a desk in the explosion. He swept his bangs out of his eyes, wiping sweat from his forehead.

He grasped the edge of the desk for support as he stood and, as he did, felt something very peculiar. Something was missing from him. He wasn't sure what it was but it seemed like there was a hole in his soul, as though some large weight had been suddenly removed. As he stood and looked over the desk Kaiba found out what it was.

He stood in shadow behind the desk so as not to be seen as he watched the man he knew as Dr. Karachi was carried out on a stretcher by two paramedics. He was messed up pretty badly, but that was not what caught Kaiba's attention. Standing in the doorway was a young man in a black coat and lavender shirt, just like Kaiba. He had short brown hair, also like Kaiba's. When the young man turned to look at the aftermath of the explosion, Kaiba's suspicions were confirmed: It was himself.

Standing only a few yards away was Kaiba's exact double, yet he knew they were not alike in any way. The man he saw in the doorway was the yin to his yang, the light to his shadow, or, most accurately, the good to his evil.

Kaiba watched his other self walk away after the stretcher, and grinned malevolently. Glancing at his feet, he saw a shard of the black stone. Picking up the warm and jagged meteor rock, Kaiba let out a derisive laugh of triumph.

He was free at last to do whatever he wished, and now not even his lighter side was going to hold him back.

- - - - -

The telephone rang in the house behind the Kame Game Shop, waking Joey Wheeler from his snooze on the living room couch. Yugi Mutou went to answer the phone, which had interrupted the teaching game of Duel Monsters he was playing with his friend Tristan Taylor. Joey yawned and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand as he sat up, realizing a few seconds later that it was filled with whipped cream.

"What the…?!" he said angrily, wiping his face clean with his other hand. "Awright, who did it?" He glared at Tristan.

"Don't look at me," Tristan said innocently, though his face was spread in a wide grin.

Joey heard light snickering from behind him and whipped around, peering behind the sofa. Téa Gardner lay on the floor in a fit of silent giggles, a can of whipping cream in her hand.

"I hope you like vanilla," she said between giggles.

"Not funny, Téa," said Joey heatedly as he removed the last of the cream from his face. "You're lucky you're a girl, or I'd…"

"Or you'd what?" said Téa, sitting up. "Beat the crap out of me? Ha! Not even if I was a guy."

Joey turned back around and plopped onto the sofa cushion with a sour look on his face, while Téa stood and sprayed herself a handful of whipped cream. While she licked at her hand, Yugi walked back into the room.

"Who was on the phone, Yugi?" Tristan asked.

"Mokuba," Yugi replied. "He said there was an accident and Kaiba's in the hospital."

"What!" everyone said at once.

"Mokuba wants us over there right away," Yugi continued. "He sounded really worried."

A while later, the group arrived at the emergency room to find Mokuba, Seto's little brother, sitting in the lobby. When he saw the others come in, he stood to greet them.

"Thanks for coming, you guys," he said. "I just didn't know who else to call. Seto says he's okay, but I'm still worried about him."

"It's all right, Mokuba," Yugi said comfortingly as they all sat down. "Why don't you tell us what happened?"

Mokuba told them of the package Seto had received from his friend, Seto's experiments with Dr. Karachi, and how the experiments had backfired dramatically, resulting in a terrible explosion.

"Seto doesn't seem to be hurt at all," Mokuba said as he finished. "But Karachi didn't get off looking so well. He's in a room right now, and Seto's having an examination."

"Well, if you ask me," Joey said, his arms crossed, "it all sounds a little suspicious."

The others stared at him with blank looks on their faces.

"What's so suspicious?" Tristan asked disbelievingly.

"I think I wanna have a talk with this so called 'scientist'," said Joey as though Tristan hadn't spoken. "Where'd you say his room was again?"

Mokuba sighed.

"Down the hall and to the right," he said, pointing to his left. "It's room 305A."

"Awright!" Joey said loudly, standing up. "I'll be right back."

And he marched off down the hallway, leaving the others behind with exasperated expressions on their faces.

- - - - -

Kaiba quietly slipped into the empty room 305A. Karachi was lying in a hospital bed; most of the glass and rubble had been removed by now and replaced with a couple of tubes that protruded from his arm. Kaiba could see by the dazed look on the man's face that he was awake, but deeply affected by some sort of antiseptic.

"Ooh," Kaiba breathed softly as he examined Karachi's leg, which was held in a sling over the bed. "That must hurt." He looked at Karachi's face. "I've come to ask you a few questions, Karachi, regarding the explosion."

Karachi could not talk well at the moment, but he nodded once to show he would answer as best as he could.

"First," said Kaiba, taking a step closer, "do you know what happened when that stone turned black?"

Karachi shook his head slowly, indicating he had no idea of what happened during the explosion.

"Ah. I thought not," Kaiba said, a bit disappointed. "Unfortunately, neither do I. When I came to, I looked toward the doorway and received a slight shock. Do you know what I saw?"

Again, Karachi shook his head.

"I saw myself, Karachi. I saw another me."

Karachi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Aha, then you do have an idea of what happened?"

There was a pause as Karachi tried to work his mouth.

"M-meteor rock…" he managed to mumble, "…m-must have… affected you….Split you… i-into two p-persons…"

"Yes," Kaiba said, straightening. "My thought's exactly."

He glanced around the room for a moment and spotted an empty syringe on top of a pair of gloves on the table next to the bed.

"Well," he said, turning back to face Karachi, "I think you've had a very stressful night. So, why don't you close your eyes and get some rest?"

Karachi nodded and did so, while Kaiba slipped on one of the rubber gloves and grasped the syringe with it. He stuck the needle into one of the tubes and gently pressed on the valve.

"Good night, Karachi," he said, a smirk playing across his lips as the air bubbles he'd made slid through the tube. "And I'll see you in hell."

- - - - -

Joey turned around the corner of the hallway and, spotting room 305A, quickened his pace. But before he had reached the room, someone walked out of it, gently closing the door behind him.

"Kaiba?" Joey said, stopping a few feet from the door.

Kaiba looked around at the sound of his name.

"Wheeler," he said when he saw Joey. "What are you doing here?"

Before Joey could answer, Kaiba held up a hand to stop him and said, "Never mind. Knowing you, you've probably already forgotten."

"For your information, Kaiba," Joey said, heating up again, "I'm here to see Karachi."

"Really," Kaiba said, and he leaned in closer to Joey's face. "Well, I'd hate to disappoint you, Wheeler," he added softly, "but Karachi is not available right now. You see, he's sleeping."

He smirked and walked around Joey, elbowing him hard in the arm. Joey stared after him, rubbing his arm, but not in an angry way. Something about Kaiba didn't seem right. He was nastier than usual.

An alarm sounded behind him and he turned to see a group of doctors scurrying into room 305A, shouting incoherently. Joey made out a few sentences.

"Patient is in critical condition!"

"We're at Code Blue! Code Blue! Hurry!"

Joey peeked through the doorway and watched as a doctor pulled out a machine that is meant to jumpstart the heart when it fails. A constant, high-pitched beep rang out in the background. There were a few moments in which the doctor had yelled "Clear!" and pressed the pads to Karachi's chest, but to no avail. Then, a few minutes later, the machine was put away and the doctors stopped moving around.

As Joey began walking away from the room, he faintly heard a nurse declare the time of death.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Well, Mr. Kaiba," said the doctor as Seto buttoned up his lavender shirt. "Surprisingly, you check out without a scratch. After such an explosion, I'm amazed you weren't hurt. I just wish I could say the same for your friend."

Seto slid off of the papered table and snatched up his coat.

"I'm not sure I understand it myself," he said quietly. "I was closest to the glass."

"Yes, but my examination shows nothing out of the ordinary," the doctor reassured him. "Now," he added, "I suggest you go home and get some rest. It's late and you've had a rough night."

Seto inclined his head in a small bow and swung his coat over his shoulder as he left the room. _The man said nothing was wrong_, he tried to tell himself. But he still felt strangely empty, even if it wasn't physically shown.

Before he could peruse the subject any further, he had turned the corner and received a small surprise. Sitting in the lobby, and talking with his little brother, were Yugi, Téa and Tristan.

"Seto!" Mokuba said when he saw his brother. "You're all right!"

Mokuba ran towards Seto and hugged him around the middle. Seto patted the boy's head and looked around at the others.

"And what are you all doing here?" he asked gruffly.

"Er…," stuttered Tristan. "We were just… uh…."

"We're here because… Joey got sick!" Téa blurted.

"Oh, yeah. Really sick," Tristan added.

"So we brought him to the Emergency Room---"

"And ran into Mokuba," Yugi finished quickly. "He told us you were here and what happened. Are you okay?"

Seto didn't answer. Instead, he said, "I think you might have made a mistake."

"Why's that?" Yugi asked.

"Because the vet's office is still a few blocks over," Seto replied with a smirk.

A sneeze sounded behind him and they turned around to look. Joey emerged from the hallway, rubbing his nose.

"Who's insultin' me now?" he asked bitterly, then he stopped when he saw Seto. "Oh," he added.

He was staring at Seto oddly. It made Seto feel uncomfortable, so he looked back at the others.

"Well," he said to the group, "I appreciate your concern, but it is not needed. Everything is fine, so Mokuba and I are going home."

He placed his hand on Mokuba's shoulder and steered him out through the front sliding doors.

When they were outside, he addressed Mokuba.

"Why did you call them?" he asked.

Mokuba hesitated.

"I-I didn't," he said hastily. "I just bumped into them, that's all."

"Mokuba," Seto said sternly. "I know what you do when you're worried about me."

Mokuba looked down at the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry, Seto," he said softly. "I was scared, and I wanted someone to talk to."

"I know, Mokuba," said Seto as they approached their limousine. "I know."

A little while later, Seto and Mokuba arrived at their mansion and stepped inside. As the butler took their coats, a maid ran hurriedly into the room and stopped when she saw the Kaiba brothers.

"Oh, good, Master Seto, you're home," she panted. "You just received a call from the hospital."

"What is it?" Seto asked.

"I'm very sorry, sir," she said. "But it seems you're employee, Mr. Karachi, has just passed away."

The brothers froze as soon as she finished.

"Wh-what?"

"He's dead, sir," she replied. "They are not sure how, but somehow a large amount of oxygen entered his heart. They thought you, being his employer, should be the first to notify. Please excuse me."

She quickly left the foyer to continue her job, leaving both brothers standing still in shock. Seto could not understand how it had happened. It seemed once Karachi was in the hospital that he would be perfectly all right in no time. Even the doctors had said he would recover within less than a week. So, how…?

There was a knock on the door and the butler, who was still standing in the foyer, opened it immediately, revealing a tall man in a black hat and long brown trench coat.

"Yes?" Seto said, looking at the man.

"Are you Seto Kaiba?" the man asked.

"Who wants to know?"

"Detective Brown at your service," the man replied, flashing a silver badge. "I've come to ask a few questions regarding your employee, Mr. Karachi."

Seto nodded and Detective Brown stepped inside, the butler closing the door.

"No, thank you," Brown said when the butler made to take his coat. "I won't be staying long.

"Now, I have reason to believe that Mr. Karachi did not just die in his sleep. It is very possible that this was murder."

"How do you figure?" Seto asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"One does not just suddenly receive a large air bubble in their bloodstream, Mr. Kaiba. An empty syringe was found near the bed, the valve only pushed down slightly. There were no fingerprints found on the syringe, meaning the person was wearing gloves. Did you hear or see anything suspicious before his time of death?"

Seto shook his head, but Mokuba seemed to be thinking of something.

"Hey, Seto," he said, tugging on Seto's sleeve. "Joey went to talk to Karachi while you were being examined. Maybe he saw something."

"Who now?" the detective asked, intrigued.

"Joey Wheeler," Mokuba said. "I don't know where he lives exactly, but he was with his friends earlier. They hang out at the Kame Game Shop near the center of town."

"Kame?" Brown said. "I think I know that place. Well, I thank you for your time. You are sure you didn't hear anything else?"

"No, Detective," Seto said.

"Alright. Thank you again. I'll be on my way."

Detective Brown went out the door when the butler had promptly opened it for him, leaving the Kaiba brothers still slightly surprised and confused.

Seto sighed.

"Sorry about this, Mokuba," he said a moment later.

"It's not a big deal," Mokuba said with a smile. "As long as you're okay."

"Tomorrow is Saturday," Seto said thoughtfully. "How about I take you to the arcade tomorrow? We can spend some time together."

"Really?" said Mokuba, his eyes lighting up. "You'd do that for me? Even though you've already beaten the high scores on almost every game?"

"Of course," Seto said, patting his little brother's head. "I owe you for tonight."

"Thanks, Seto," Mokuba said, and gave his brother a hug.

- - - - -

After the group arrived home at the game shop, Joey took them into the living room to tell them what he had seen, and what his suspicions were. It did not take him long to tell them, and when he finished, they all exchanged worried glances.

"You don't think Kaiba could have had something to do with this?" Téa said. "I mean he was being examined in the opposite hallway at the same time."

"I tell ya, it was him," Joey declared. "I talked to him. He insulted me and everything."

"But it just doesn't make sense," Yugi said, puzzled. "We saw him come out of his room, and then you come out of the other hallway not long after that."

"I don't get it either," Joey said. "But I know he did something."

There was a knock at the door and Yugi went to answer it. Curious, Joey followed. Yugi opened the door to a tall man in a long trench coat. He spoke in a gruff voice.

"Which one of you is Joey Wheeler?" he said to them.

"That's me," Joey said. "Who's askin'?"

"I am Detective Brown from the Domino Police Department," he said and showed them his badge. "I'm here to ask a few questions about Mr. Karachi's murder."

"Did you say murder?" Yugi asked, and Brown nodded.

"Ha! I told you," Joey said.

"I have a witness claiming you were near the man's room at the time of his death," said the detective. "Did you see or hear anything?"

"Actually, I saw someone come out of the room at that time," Joey said. "We were just talking about it, it was kind of weird. See, I saw Seto Kaiba walk outta that room, and then not even a minute later, the guy's dead."

"Really," Brown mused, taking out a small pad of paper and a pencil, and he began jotting down notes. "I've just been to see Mr. Kaiba, and he says he was nowhere near the room at the time."

"Which is true," Yugi cut in. "My friends and I saw him come back from in an examination in the opposite hallway. There was no way he could have been in Karachi's room."

"Hmm," Brown grunted. "Confusing indeed. Well, I don't think I have any further questions. Thank you for your help, boys."

"Sure."

"No problem."

Detective Brown walked away as Yugi shut the door. He and Joey shrugged and returned to the living room to continue their discussion.

- - - - -

Kaiba peered around the light post he was standing behind, and found the detective walking away from Yugi's door. When the man's back was turned, Kaiba slipped a thin tube out of an inside pocket in his coat and put it to his lips, taking aim at the man's neck. He blew hard and sent a small dart flying straight at him. It hit its mark, and the detective swayed and fell to the ground.

Pleased, Kaiba approached the now unconscious detective. He searched through the trench coat and pulled a small pad of paper out of an inside pocket. Flipping through the pages, he found where the notes regarding Karachi's murder started, tore them out and crumpled them up into a wad of paper.

_The serum in that dart will wipe out his memory of the last twenty-four hours,_ he thought as he tossed the paper into the nearest bin. _With luck, no one will find him until he wakes in the morning._

Kaiba chuckled softly as he dragged the man into an alleyway, and then walked off into the night, planning the next day's events.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The next morning, Yugi answered the phone to a very excited Joey.

"Hey, Yugi, guess what!" he said without saying hello. "Serenity's comin' for a visit! She's gonna come and spend a few days here."

"That's great, Joey," Yugi said groggily. "Wh-when is sh-she arriving?" he added with a yawn.

"She's gonna be at the train station tomorrow at three o' clock on the dot," Joey said sharply. "You, me, an' everyone else is gonna be there to see her, ya got it?"

"Yeah, sure J-Joey," Yugi yawned again. "We'll all be there."

"Great," Joey said. "See you tomorrow."

Yugi dropped the receiver back in its place and shuffled back upstairs to get more sleep. He never liked getting up at eight o' clock on a Saturday.

- - - - -

Seto leaned against the wall of the foyer while Mokuba hung up his cell phone and stuck it in his pocket. When he was ready to go, he nodded at Seto, who nodded at the butler in turn and they walked out the door.

"Are you quite certain that you do not wish to take the limo today, sir?" the butler asked as they departed.

"Yes, I am," Seto said decisively. "We'll be just fine walking."

The butler did not object any further and closed the door behind the two brothers.

"Who were you on the phone with, Mokuba?" Seto asked as they cleared the gate.

"It was Yugi," Mokuba replied. "He was inviting us to meet them at the train station at three o' clock tomorrow to meet Joey's sister, Serenity. She's going to be visiting for a few days."

"Oh," said Seto, determinedly looking in the other direction as a flush crept up his neck. "And what did you say?"

"I said that we were busy," Mokuba said quietly, sounding somewhat disappointed. "I know you don't like them much."

Seto did not reply. In truth, he was just as disappointed as Mokuba sounded. He did not enjoy being around Yugi and his friends, Yugi being his rival and everything, but he would have liked to greet Serenity as she arrived on the train. Of course, Seto didn't even know whether his feelings for Serenity were real, or just a passing crush. Either way, he never thought about it much. Though, he did think of her as a beautiful young woman the moment he had seen her back in Battle City. Her kind voice and smile were like…

Seto quickly realized what he was thinking and shook his head to clear it. He was being ridiculous. He knew couldn't be with her anyway. She was Joey Wheeler's sister, and he knew right away that immediately complicated any relationship they could have. He shook his head again. What was wrong with him? His mind didn't usually wander off in such a fashion. And as he and Mokuba neared the arcade, Seto decided to push those thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrate instead on having fun with his little brother.

- - - - -

Kaiba lurked behind a tree outside of the mansion grounds and waited for his other self to come. He didn't have to wait long, for he could hear his other self talking with the butler and then with Mokuba as they walked through the front gate. He skulked lower behind the tree, making sure he was hidden from their sight. As they passed, Kaiba caught a small snatch of their conversation.

"…meet them at the train station at three o' clock tomorrow to meet Joey's sister, Serenity," Mokuba was saying. "She's going to be visiting for a few days."

As the two passed, Kaiba sneered. So, Wheeler's sister was coming for a visit. Kaiba made a mental note of the time, and quickly made his way back to the mansion.

"Back so soon, Mr. Kaiba?" the butler said as he opened the door for Kaiba to come in.

"Of course I am," Kaiba said, waving a hand. "Do you think I'm going to spend my day at a stupid little arcade? Anyway, tell the rest of the staff that you all have the day off today."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"The whole staff can have the day off today," Kaiba repeated. "Now, go," he added, waving his hand again and walking away. "Go off and enjoy yourselves. But, stay away from the arcades."

"Yes, sir," the butler said enthusiastically and he hurried off to tell his peers.

Kaiba quickly went around the house, making preparations for when his other self arrived home.

- - - - -

Later that day, Seto and Mokuba arrived home from the arcade, Mokuba laughing brightly and carrying a few stuffed toys, and Seto smiling serenely, happy to see his little brother happy.

Seto opened the door to the mansion, slightly surprised to find the butler was nowhere in sight. He looked around as Mokuba closed the door.

"That was so much fun, Seto!" he said happily, not noticing a thing. "I couldn't believe the looks on the kids faces when they saw you walk through the door."

"Well, I am the head of a major corporation," Seto said, dismissing the fact that the butler was not there.

"Yeah," Mokuba continued. "And then one of them actually challenged you to a duel. I still don't get why you didn't fight him, Seto. You would have beaten him in two turns, easily."

"Well, Mokuba," said Seto, "I didn't because that wasn't what I was there for."

He ruffled Mokuba's hair and then looked around again.

"That's odd," he said. "I wonder where the staff are?"

Mokuba, now realizing that not so much as the maid had come to greet them, looked around also.

"Yeah," he said. "Maybe they didn't here us get back?"

Seto thought it unlikely judging by how loud Mokuba had been they first walked in. Something didn't feel right.

Just as this thought came to Seto's head, the lights flickered and went out. The sun was already almost set, leaving the room in a state of semi-dark twilight.

"What the…?" Seto said.

"What happened to the lights?" Mokuba said, a little worried now.

"Don't be scared, Mokuba," said Seto. "Just stay here, and I'll go and see what the problem is."

Mokuba nodded and Seto walked down the wide hall to the large kitchen. Rummaging through a drawer, he found a flashlight and returned to the hall to find the basement.

The flashlight's beam slid across the walls until it hit a dark door. Seto opened it and walked down the flight of stairs behind it to the basement of the mansion. There was a little light coming from a small window that lead to the outside, but Seto kept he flashlight on so as to find the fuse box. It didn't take him long to spot it, and he immediately opened it, searched through the wide array of switches until he found the one that controlled the overall power, and then flipped it to the "on" position.

He examined the other switches. Nothing else was out of place, just that one switch. That meant someone had flipped the switch on purpose. But, who?

Seto heard a rustle from behind him and turned around. The basement, now swimming in the dull light coming from an overhead lamp, seemed completely empty. Was he hearing things? He turned back to the box, closed it, and turned around.

For a second, he thought he was looking in a mirror. Then he realized that the person standing in front of him was all too real, and his exact double.

"Hello, Seto," he said, using Seto's voice. Then, the double brought up his leg and kicked Seto hard in the stomach, knocking him backward, winding him, and he hit his head against the wall upon impact. Little lights burst into his eyes and he felt dizzy from the blow, and before he could react, the double pushed a hand to Seto's face and slammed his head against the wall a second time.

Seto felt as though his head had cracked open, and then he knew no more.


End file.
